Snow Falls
by Hana Rui
Summary: Revised It has always been like this on the first day of each year: the snow falls, the tears pour, and two estranged hearts remember. Pairing: Nobunaga Kiyota x Kaede Rukawa.
1. Chapter One

**Fandom:** Slam Dunk

**Summary:** It has always been like this on the first day of each year: the snow falls, the tears pour, and two estranged hearts remember.

* * *

**Title: **Snow Falls

**Author: **Hana Rui

**Genre: **shounen-ai, drama

**Pairing: **Nobunaga Kiyota x Kaede Rukawa [KiyoRu]

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**CHAPTER ONE**

From the moment he stepped into his gloomy room, Kaede Rukawa knew he needed a diversion right away. Anything to keep him from thinking. From reminiscing about that certain part of his past. He just knew he could never survive another minute if this kept on. What with it happening again on this day just as it did in the past several years.

There were the neatly wrapped stuffs he got for his birthday scattered on the floor of his room, but one derisive glance at them and he knew he was soon a dead man. Not much hope of diversion in those since he didn't really need to check them out one by one, knowing full well they contained more or less the same stuffs as last year. Designer clothes, perfumes, shaving creams (like there was really much to shave on him anyway!), more clothes, more stinking perfumes, more goddamn creams and hygienic ointments that his mom had strictly told him to use _religiously_ everyday…

There were even three craps at one corner resembling basketballs! Last year, he had five of those, and the year after that, ten. This year, his collection had just about grown to a hundred, starting from when he was three. It was all thanks to his dumb relatives who weren't even bothered by the thought that he only had two hands to play balls with.

And, no, he never did dream of teaching himself to juggle basketballs to spite them—not that they would even pay attention anyway.

Still, even though it annoyed him very much, he kept every single ball. They were not just balls after all. Or at least, he'd like to think so. They were the best and most expensive types from the American market. He probably held the record of having the most number of imported basketballs in the district—or perhaps even in the whole nation!

For all he knew, he might be the only one who had this much in the whole world! They were beginning to crowd his room already that he was seriously considering donating half of them to Shohoku High.

"Shohoku High? Munchkin, why such a cheap school?" his mother's rattling dulcet voice suddenly rang in his ears. Those were the words she had exclaimed almost a year ago on the phone from some other part of the world when he told her about taking his senior high education at Shohoku. "Why not that posh, private school, Ryo_tofu_—"

"Ryokufu," he had corrected her flatly.

"Yes that. Were they not recruiting you—"

"It's too far."

"Well, then how about Sho_bo_?"

It didn't take him a while to figure that one out. "It's Shoyo, Mom."

"Yes. Yes, Munchkin. Why not go to Shoyo?"

"Too far…" he practically drawled.

His mom let out an impatient breath, obviously getting annoyed by his son's bullheadedness. "O—kay. Then go to Kai_man_."

He rolled his eyes and sighed, utterly irritated by his mom's unrelenting stupidity. "It's Kai -nan."

"Whatever, Munchkin. I heard they have the best _baseball_ team in the district."

He was tempted to quip, "I play basketball, you old hag!" but decided to just conclude the irksome conversation with a final, curt remark, "My mind's made up."

Coming back to the present, the jaded young man pulled off his muffler and lay with a lazy thud on the carpeted floor. _If I had only known he would be there…_

He groaned, shook his head off that regretful memory and, locking his eyes on the ceiling, directed his mind instead from thoughts of the past to the unplanned one-on-one match he had with Mitsui-senpai this afternoon.

Everybody else on the team had either gone somewhere or was staying home with his family for the New Year. Only he and Mitsui-san didn't feel like staying in…

"Ch!" the former MVP sputtered as he defended the basket. "Some family! They can't even trust their own son to change. Up to now they still believe I'm part of some rowdy street gang and would always keep a watchful eye on me! They're so annoying!"

Rukawa simply snorted and kept dribbling the ball. Some family, all right! This guy didn't know how lucky he was to actually _have_ a family. While he—

He was suddenly snapped out of his reveries when he felt the ball get snatched out of his hand. _What the—_ His face creased with a menacing frown sending a silent threat to the sneering third year dribbling the ball with all cockiness in front of him.

A threat that was easily ignored by the equally brash shooting guard.

"It's not good to reminisce in the middle of a game, y'know." Mitsui ran pass him, jumped up and deftly got a basket in from the three-point area.

"_Kuso_," he cursed under his breath, turning his back on the senior pumping his fists for joy.

"Say, what about you, Rukawa? Why are you here anyway?"

"My folks are gone for the holidays," he replied on his way to get the ball.

"Without you?" Mitsui was obviously perplexed.

He bent and palmed the ball, saying, "I'm actually kinda used to it." Why wouldn't he be? It had always been the case in his goddamn house. Holiday or no holiday, his parents had always been off on some trips. Sometimes concerning business, sometimes just plainly for fun. He could hardly even remember how his folks looked like! He just might bump into them one day along the sidewalk and not recognize who they were!

"Ch! Who needs them anyway?" Mitsui-san huffed. Or had Mitsui-san really said that? He wasn't quite sure for at that moment, though he saw his _senpai_ move his lips, it wasn't his _senpai_'s voice that he heard, but an echo of a memory from a seemingly distant past...

_That guy…_ Why did all paths today lead to the memory of his past with that guy? That cocky airhead? That… that creep?

Rukawa sat up and took out a picture frame from under his bed. That of him as a skinny ten-year-old and _that guy_… _He_ was strangling him playfully with his fleshy arms and was smiling like a mad man to the camera. He had then the same hairstyle he had today—long and shabby black strands so sexily framing his round face. He was as loudly obnoxious then as he was today. And Rukawa, being a naturally quiet, timid kid was oddly paired with him.

But, even though each of them was everything the other was not, they shared a genuine friendship that transcended whatever differences and incongruities there were in their characters.

"Oh look, here comes that rich bastard!" the taunting voice echoed through his head and plunged him into an inescapable retrospect. Back to the time when he was in elementary and the cocky kids in school made fun of him because he had never brought his parents to any school event that required their presence. If they weren't calling him _rich bastard_, he was the _parentless kid_.

And he would always get into fights because of that, and get so terribly beaten up that _this guy_ always had to carry him home on his back after, of course, beating the hell out of his tormentors.

"You are too impulsive, Kaede," he would say in gentle reproach as he—little Kaede Rukawa—wept on his back. "How many times do I have to tell you not to mind them?"

"I—I'm not an orphan, ne, Nobu-chan? My parents are someplace else, but—but, they have not abandoned me, have they?"

"Ch! Of course not."

"Do—Do they love me?"

"Of course. What kinda question was that?"

"Then, then, why don't they come home? Why won't they stay long enough to take care of me?" His tears poured out, unreserved. "Why won't they Nobu-chan? Why won't they!"

"Don't cry," the fat kid consoled him. "Who needs them anyway? As long as I'm with you, you're gonna be all right."

He—the little frail kid—sniffed, "Do you… Do you love me?"

"Yes, of course," Nobu-chan said, turning his head a little to look into his eyes. "I love you Kae-chan. Now don't cry anymore, okay."

Present day Rukawa brushed his slender fingers on the image of the one person in the world he had learned to trust and had since then held very dear to his heart. "Nobu-chan," he muttered, staring longingly at his former buddy. Though they were two different ends of the block, they were inseparable in their elementary days and had always done everything they could to help each other through. Whenever. Wherever. Whatever.

And since both of them had parents who were too busy with work to bother about them, each other was all they had. As long as they were together, there was absolutely nothing they could not survive through.

_Absolutely nothing?_ The words came almost like a curse. A mockery. Rukawa felt the first tear slide down his cheeks as he turned his gaze to his own frail image, face twisted in discomfort and pain. This picture was taken on the same day as today, five years ago. They were both in their winter clothes and were all red and puffed up from running around the hills of snow at the backyard of the Rukawa Mansion.

"Why won't you smile for the camera, Kae-chan?" Nobu-chan asked teasingly, pressing his arms harder around his neck.

"N-Nobu-chan," he choked, pulling desperately at the plump, stalwart arms. "_Itaiii…_"

"Oi, _oyaji_," Nobu-chan called out to the Rukawa family's loyal butler who was standing before them with a wry smile. "C'mon! What are you waiting for?"

"Uh, _hai_." The dutiful butler, though not really liking the idea of his master looking like crap in the picture, raised the camera to his face and clicked it, putting into still frame their last happy afternoon together…

Rukawa stared harder at his image. If they hadn't been so flushed up, his face would've clearly shown something he could never let Nobu-chan know. Not ever.

There were a lot that a still picture could hide behind those colors. Despite catching a part of a certain moment and preserving it forever, there were still a lot of things it could never tell. Like in this picture…

Only he knew how warm his cheeks had turned and how hard his heart had pounded at that moment Nobu-chan held him close like he was never gonna let go. He had never felt as much warmth before as his buddy had given him. From that moment on, he knew how special Nobu-chan was to him. He was the only one he wanted to be with for the rest of his life.

He bit his lip and hugged the frame close to his chest, tears profusely watering his wan cheeks. It was such a shame that they had to part ways.

_Nobu-chan… I… I miss you…_

**tbc**_  
_


	2. Chapter Two

**CHAPTER TWO**

Bored and pensive Nobunaga Kiyota stared unblinkingly at the calendar hanging on the door of his room. It was January 1, the first day of the year. He just finished conversing with his mom and dad on the phone from some far away nowhereness and was now sitting like a well-built and long-haired Buddha on his bed, staring like nothing at today's goddamn date.

_Ch! Why do I even bother?_ He stretched himself out on the soft cushion, arms and legs in spread-eagle. Why did he always have to think of that guy whenever it was the first of January? There were a lot of other things to bother about than his past with that guy. He should be thinking of his future. Of working harder to become the district's number one rookie, and thus defeating Shohoku High's Kaede Rukawa…

Nobunaga suddenly sprung to his butt and grunted. Hell! It was happening again. Now there was no escaping the haunting memories of the childhood friendship he shared with that guy. That cocky airhead. That… that creep!

He sighed and hugged his knees to his chest. "Kaede Rukawa." The name felt strange to his tongue. As though it was some foreign words he had never encountered before. It made him feel strange, also. Just the mere thought of it was enough to stir something in him that he had long been holding back. That he had been trying to ignore for a long time. Something that made him feel light yet at the same time embarrassed…

"Kaede Rukawa," he muttered absently. "Rukawa. Rukawa. Rukawa." He could feel his heart pounding madly inside his chest as he went on muttering that guy's name. He didn't know what was making him do this, but he knew it was torturing him like hell.

Or perhaps, even worse…

"Why do you have to be everything that I am not?" his own angry voice from years ago rang in his ears. He could still vividly remember the look of pain in the frail kid's face, red and bleeding from all the cuffs and back-handed slaps he had delivered to it.

"Nobu-chan…" The kid's voice was small and imploring, but he didn't let it sway his heart. Instead, his angry fist shot out once more and knocked the kneeling kid to the ground. His vindictive foot kicked him on the stomach several times until he was coughing out a pool of blood on the snow.

He had said a lot of curses and thoughtless maledictions to the sobbing kid, not letting him explain his side. He had even spit on his face and grimly vowed, "Someday, I will be better than you are, Rukawa!" before running off, leaving the frail form of his former buddy writhing and sniffling on the biting snow.

Nobunaga felt his eyes begin to water. He could not forget the pained look on that guy's face when he called him "Rukawa". If he had only listened. If he had only reined in his anger and let his Kae-chan explain. If he had only believed him when he said he didn't kiss that girl.

If he had only…

He buried his face to his knees and wheezed. He had been so easily blinded by jealousy when Reiko told him how much she liked Rukawa that his world abruptly stopped turning and everything else just lost its importance.

"_Why?_" His voice sounded pathetically small as he fought back the flood of tears struggling to escape his eyes. "W-What does he have that I don't have?"

"A handsome face, for one," Reiko replied coolly, not even a slight bit affected by his obvious agony. "And he's _actually_ sexy. And a basketball ace. And… And…" A wide, dreamy smile stretched her lips and blood rose to her cheeks as she added, "And he's a great kisser."

Present day Nobunaga raised his head and looked at the wall as a pair of scorching tears rushed down his cheeks. "Bitch." The word fitted that girl as though it was made for the sole purpose of describing her. That goddamn liar! That whore! If he had only realized the kind of girl she was soon enough, he would've been able to straighten things up between him and Kae-chan.

But shouldn't he have known that Kae-chan was innocent? Shouldn't he have trusted him more than he did that girl, to think that they've practically been together all their lives?

Didn't Kae-chan know how much he—fat, little Nobunaga—loved that girl to even think of touching her? He should've known that all along. Or, upon realizing it, he should've at least felt sorry. But he didn't. Or didn't he?

He reached back and pulled out a slightly creased picture from under his pillow. That of him as a plump ten-year-old and _that guy_…

It was taken on their last happy afternoon together, five years ago. Two days before the violent incident that had estranged them from each other for this long…

"Nobunaga-kun, is this really you?" Soichiro Jin, his _senpai_ and close friend, exclaimed when he showed him the picture about a couple of weeks ago. "Wow! I can tell you've been working pretty hard." He frowned and scrutinized the other kid. The frail, flushing kid he held in his arms by the neck. "He looks familiar…"

"He was my best buddy," he simply said in a quiet voice.

"Kaede Rukawa?" Jin asked in slight shock. "This is him, _ne_, Nobunaga-kun?

He simply nodded and bit his lip as tears began to well up in his eyes.

"Well, what do you know," Jin remarked under his breath. Then, turning to him asked in a prodding, yet calm voice. "Wanna talk about it?"

That was exactly the reason why he had invited the older guy over. He needed someone to talk it over with. He had been bottling it all up behind his loud, cocky façade for so long that he felt like he could never survive another day without letting it all out.

So, he told Jin-san everything. Everything about him and Rukawa. From the first time he saw him at the school ground, bleeding and badly beaten up from fighting with those bullies, to when he left him in the same condition five years ago…

"That was rude. Why did you do it?" Jin asked.

"I—I was so angry," he sobbed, his voice catching in his throat as bitter tears formed two winding rivers down his cheeks.

"With whom?"

He turned a slightly perplexed look at his _senpai_ and replied a bit doubtfully, "Rukawa? Am I not supposed to be angry with him?"

"You're right." Jin raised a scrutinizing eyebrow. "But are you sure it was anger…?"

"Uh, yes?" He raised his brows in slight uncertainty. "I was jealous." How else could he have felt?

"Over what?"

"B-Because I thought he really kissed her." He felt very much like he was being taunted, and it annoyed him.

"I see." Jin sighed, stood up and walked to the window as he gradually began to doubt the idea of telling his _senpai_ everything. He was almost afraid the older guy was about to laugh to his face and tell him how stupid and senseless it all was. He was so filled with this thought that he was practically startled when Jin suddenly spoke with an air of empathy, and the bearing of a person who had confidence in what he was about to say. "Sometimes we feel this strong, overwhelming emotion over something—or someone and feel so sure that that's exactly how we feel; when in truth, we actually feel the complete opposite."

"Eh?" The words completely went pass Kiyota's head.

"It may come naturally or we make ourselves feel it by force. All for the purpose of keeping ourselves from realizing something that might hurt us more."

"What could've hurt me more?" he asked.

Jin turned to him and said. "I know how it feels. I've been in the same situation." Kiyota just simply stared dumfoundedly at his _senpai_ as the latter went on. "Have you heard of that saying about fear being the opposite of love?"

"Is it?"

"Were you not at that time afraid of losing someone special, but was just too proud to admit it even to yourself?"

"I just lost her…"

Jin shook his head slowly and sat down beside him on the bed. "I wasn't talking about her. I was talking about _him_." He pointed to the grimacing kid in the picture. "Think about it. Didn't losing _him_ hurt you more than losing her?"

He stared at the frail kid in the picture, "He's a shit."

"Yes. Yes." Jin, this time pointed to the plump kid with the wide smile. "But this kid here sure thinks differently."

He gazed at his own image and felt his heart jump a bit. Then it jumped again. And again. Until it was rampaging madly around his chest. The same way it did on that day he held Kae-chan close to him like he didn't ever want to let go. The warmth of the other boy's body pressed against him made him feel light and happy. And strange.

It was a good thing he was all flushed up or his face would've told of something he knew he could never let Kae-chan know in a million years…

The thought of it now brought more tears to Kiyota's eyes. Jin-san was right. Losing Kae-chan hurt him more than anything else. But he had been too afraid to admit it. Instead, he chose to bury it deep into a hole of pretense and covered it richly with an inclination to rival Rukawa every single chance he got. He had made it all too obvious that he hated the guy to the deepest hell. He had been treating him like an enemy, an adversary when in truth—

When in truth...

"He might not feel the same for me," he said bitterly as he passed his arm through his teary eyes, feeling slightly annoyed that he was beginning to look like a pathetic kid in front of his senpai and there was nothing he could do about it.

"How can you be sure if you don't let him know?" Jin said, rubbing his back comfortingly.

"He might laugh at me."

"Rukawa, laughing? Are you kidding me?"

"I'm serious, Jin-san!" he cried, causing Jin to choke back the rest of his chuckles. "He might think I'm stupid! He might think it's crap! He might think…"

"Have you ever noticed how drawn he is to that red-haired, Sakuragi?" Jin gently cut in, putting on a pensive look while resting his chin upon his fist. "It's not really easy to notice, but I see it."

Of course, smart and observant Jin-san always saw everything that a simple-minded guy like him could hardly catch a glimpse of. "Wh-What do you mean?"

"He's everything that you are, except that he's red-haired. I think Rukawa-kun sees you in him."

"Wh-What…?"

"It means he still feels for loud and boisterous monkeys!"

"JIN-SAN!" he snarled, but was instantly pacified when he saw the earnest look wash over his senpai's face. It was the very look that made him decide to tell this guy everything. He knew if there was anyone who could understand him, and help him sort out his confused thoughts, it's got to be his Jin-senpai. He felt he just had to believe everything that the man said—and that's not excluding the underhanded joke about Sakuragi!

"Calm down, Nobunaga-kun. What I'm trying to say is that he might feel the same for you. You should at least give it a try."

Present day Nobunaga sighed loudly and brushed the back of his hand across his tear-streaked face. He had been thinking hard about it. Night and day he thought of the right way, the right words to say to Kae-chan. But he still felt uncertain and hesitant...

And too afraid to know the truth.

He rested his chin on his knees and closed his eyes, conjuring up an image of the Rukawa he saw on the court a few months back when their teams competed for the Inter-High District finals. The creep was still curt and reserved, pale and lean… yet sexy and gorgeous through and through.

He had noticed the look of slight shock in Rukawa's eyes when they looked at each other, but which the taller guy was so quick to dismiss into his usual cold gaze. He had wanted to say his apologies right then and there, but his pride won over and instead got him vowing, "I definitely won't lose to you," side by side with the red-haired monkey.

Rukawa had looked scathed. Or had he? It was hard to tell from that deadpan look he always masked his face with. Why did even that have to look so goddamn handsome? He actually had trouble keeping himself from staring at him, feeling for him, and wanting him. But it was a feeling too weird to be acknowledged that he opted instead to hide it underneath a thick pile of pretentious hatred—like what he had been doing all these years…

He almost lost this guise when after performing a forceful dunk, his Kae-chan collapsed from exhaustion right in front of him. He had wanted to touch him then. Hug him and tell him that everything was gonna be okay. Then carry him home on his back and promise him he would never ever leave him again.

Not that he would really be able to do so now that Kae-chan was taller than him.

But still, as he watched him panting on the floor as though he would never get up anymore, Nobunaga had wanted to do something. Something to let Kae-chan know he was beside him…

"Do you love me?" the timid, little voice suddenly filled his ears and snapped his eyes open.

"Yes, of course," his own voice, full of assurance and affection followed. He stared at the picture in his hand and gradually let a smile touch his lips. He then turned his gaze outside the window and saw that snowflakes were profusely pouring once again.

_He must be feeling really cold right now…_

**tbc**_  
_


	3. Chapter Three

**CHAPTER THREE**

The knocks were soft, but incessant. Rukawa slowly woke out of a light slumber and realized he had fallen asleep on the posh carpet, clutching the picture frame to his chest.

"Rukawa-kun," he heard his butler's gentle voice from outside as the knocks kept coming. He suddenly felt ill tempered and, despite being thickly wrapped in his winter clothes, cold and chilling to the marrow. Coming back to the real world from peaceful lethargy had always made him feel like this—not that it made any difference from how he normally was, anyway.

He turned his back on the door and stared out the window. Snow was profusely falling once again. He curled himself up into a shivering ball and held on to the frame as more tears spilled from his eyes. The wintry atmosphere was so biting and suffocating, he wished he could just die right then and there.

"Rukawa-kun," the voice called out again. "Rukawa-kun, somebody's here to see you."

_Don't kid me_, he thought bitterly. Who would ever come to visit him on a day like this? It seemed like the whole supply of snowflakes for the rest of the winter was being disposed off in a single afternoon. Who would ever brave such a furious weather just to see him?

"He's come back," the voice said. "Kiyota-kun is here."

The startled Rukawa almost completely lost his breath upon hearing that. "Nobu-chan," he muttered as he sat up and turned his gaze to the door. Suddenly, his heart was going berserk, his insides shifting places with each other. Why was he here? Why had he come? The last time that guy had dropped by was to beat him up and accuse him of something he had never even thought of doing in his wildest dreams. The creep had even cursed him and vowed to surpass him someday.

But, what was worst of all was that, he had called him "Rukawa" from that day on as though completely condemning everything they had shared...

"Kae-chan," the voice was faint and timid, yet sharp enough to pierce his heart with the old familiarity. The old affection that he had been nurturing and yet was too afraid to show.

In an instant, he was up to his feet and was making his way pass a clatter of unopened gifts to the door. And in another moment, he was face to face with an all grown up Nobu-chan, now medium-built, and a more beautiful creature than he was before with that shabby long hair and wide, infectious smile.

"N-Nobu-chan…" was all he was able to say, still finding it hard to believe this was actually happening. That the last guy he had expected to come see him—not that he was actually expecting anyone anyway—was now standing in the flesh right in front of him.

"Ch! You're all grown up." Nobu-chan smiled wryly as he looked up at him. He raised one hand up and compared their heights. "Even taller than I am now, _ne_?"

Rukawa felt his cheeks turn warm. "Y-You too. I mean, you've grown up."

"It's been quite a while…"

"Yeah." He could feel the onset of a blush creeping up to his cheeks, but was too happy to see his Nobu-chan again to care.

"Uh…" The shorter guy suddenly became uneasy. And though his head was bent so low that he could already kiss his neck, Rukawa knew he could not be mistaken. Nobunaga Kiyota, the sensational rookie of Kainan-dai, was blushing furiously.

"Well," The guy went on, fiddling with his fingers. "I noticed you haven't made much acquaintance with anybody in Shohoku and I thought you might be feeling alone and lonely today so… so I decided to drop by."

"Nobu-chan…" He felt his lips twitch into a small smile as the other guy looked up at him, eyes soft and imploring.

"I missed you. And… And… I wanted to…"

Rukawa took a step closer to the stuttering guy and gingerly brushed a hand through his hair in a comforting gesture. "I understand. You were very angry."

Nobu-chan shook his head and said, his voice an almost whisper, "I was very afraid."

Rukawa furrowed his brows curiously, "Of what?"

"I was afraid I might lose you."

The words sounded like heaven to Rukawa's ears, complete with a choir of angels and the sweet soothing rhythm of their lyres. He had never ever thought he would actually hear that kind of statement from his Nobu-chan's lips. "Say that again?"

"I meant, I love you, Kae-chan," Nobu-chan said in a quiet, yet more confident voice as he shifted his gaze to the ground once again. "I always have. You can now go and laugh at me all you like, but that won't change the way I really feel for you."

It took a few moments for Rukawa to actually absorb what he just heard. How long had he yearned to hear those words? How long had he dreamt of and waited for this moment to come? If he was gonna laugh, it would be out of joy and nothing else. It may have sounded weird and funny to other people but it was the most blissful thing to him.

His senses finally allowed him to respond. And, not one to follow someone's lead with just the same trick, he used another way to let Nobu-chan know he felt the same…

It was the best way he knew how…

He tilted his Nobu-chan's face with a hand as he pulled him closer by the waist with the other. And in the next second, their lips met in an intimate space that told of the words they had failed to say through all the years they were apart.

It was as if that single special moment had just defined their whole destiny. The rest of their lives. Together.

"That was the best gift I ever had," Rukawa's voice spilled with delight and contentment.

Nobu-chan drew back from the hug and looked up into his eyes, "That wasn't all of it," he teased, a playful smile forming on his lips. "Happy birthday, Kae-chan!" His eyes glinted with mischief as he pushed Rukawa into the room and shut the door close.

And in the next glorious moments, Rukawa felt absolute happiness. The happiness he had not found in all the expensive gifts scattered around his room, he found in the one great gift he held in his arms.

"Do you love me?" he asked, echoing his voice from the past.

"Yes, of course," Nobu-chan replied softly, kissing him lovingly once again. "I love you Kae-chan. With all my life…"

**-end-**

**Note: **_This story stemmed from a name-confusion. I thought Nobunaga's given name was Kiyota so when Rukawa used "Kiyota" to refer to him, I got this idea that they were somehow acquainted. As it turns out, Kiyota is his family name and Rukawa really has nothing to do with him. But, of course, in fanfiction anything is possible._

_Thanks for reading! :)_


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